Life Happened, Kid
by Exotic-Dreams
Summary: He looked at her, and frowned a bit before saying, "I never forgave him, you know." Just a cute One-Shot... Maybe?


A/N: Ok, so I've been watching a lot of PPG lately... Like, A LOT! And, I had a cute idea for a Snake/Buttercup story, and it could work as a cute one-shot, but I could also expand on it, make it a full length fic. I don't know, guess it'll depend on the response from you guys. For now, though, it's just a cute one-shot. I hope you guys think it's cute, anyway. Please review, and let me know what you think, and if you want more :) Happy reading!

It was cold out, and steadily getting colder. The warmth of the day was dying away as the sun slowly set, casting the city of Townsville in semidarkness. The traffic in the streets quieted down, and lessened. People were settling in for the night, having dinner with their families, safe from the chill of the night. None of this seemed to bother the slender girl, who was currently trudging down the empty street. Everything about this young woman wreaked animosity. Her head was bowed, her shoulders hunched, and her hands were shoved deep in the pockets of her dark green hoodie. Her short, raven hair was tousled by the slight breeze as she walked, and a prominent scowl was marring her otherwise pretty features. Every now and then she would mutter something to herself, but no one was around to hear it. Well, her sisters could probably hear it, but so what? She hoped that arrogant, snot nosed, good for nothing...

"Who even decided _she_ gets to be our leader, anyway?" Buttercup muttered angrily to herself, shoving her hand deeper in her pockets and barring her teeth aggressively. She was referring to her sister, Blossom. Blossom was the responsible sister, who was always nagging, always bossing Buttercup and Bubbles around, always having to have things her way. She was an utter nightmare, and Buttercup had had enough of her tonight. It honestly wasn't unusual for there to be tension between Buttercup and Blossom, but this time, this particular fight, Blossom was _way_ out of line. Who did she think she was? Buttercup scoffed, and shook her head viciously. "It's not even like I can help it," Buttercup muttered, her scowl deepening.

Buttercup paid no attention to her surroundings, too immersed in her frustration at Blossom. Her feet carried her far away from her house, into the heart of the city. She wound her way up and down the streets, still muttering under her breath, earning strange looks from passers by. For hours she walked, her anger ebbing slightly. The people in the city streets thinned, time slipped by, soon it was eleven o'clock. Buttercup knew she'd be in trouble with the Professor, her curfew on school nights was ten, even though she was eighteen, but she didn't care. She didn't want to even see Blossom's stupid face, she just hoped Bubbles wasn't too worried about her.

Unconsciously, she made her way from the city, towards the park near her house. She didn't become aware of this until she found herself standing in front of the playground. Sighing, she bargained with herself that she would head home at midnight, before she slumped heavily on one of the swings. She was feeling less angry now, and more upset that Blossom had just jumped down her throat the way she had. Blossom had to know there was nothing Buttercup could do to help what had happened, she just had to. Bowing her head and kicking at the bark beneath her feet, Buttercup pondered the days events. "This is all stupid Brick's fault, anyway," she sighed.

_"Hey, Buttercup," someone had called out to her in the hallway. Well, Butch had called out. _

_Buttercup sighed, she had already been running late for class, and the tardy bell had just sounded. "What do you want?" she had asked, stopping and turning to face him. He had been smirking, and Buttercup would have given anything she owned to wipe the smirk off of his face._

_"I was just wondering," he'd started, smiling arrogantly down at her, "if you were busy this weekend?"_

_"No, I'm not," Buttercup had replied bluntly, not quite getting where he had been going with that question at first. She was used to boys at the school hitting on to her, but Butch Jojo? No, Butch had never approached her before, never showed any interest in her, so she didn't cotton on at first when he approached her then._

_"Great," he had smirked. "Maybe I could take you to the movies?"_

_"Uh..." Buttercup hadn't been able to formulate an eloquent response, she had just stood, gawking at Butch in the empty corridor._

_"Awesome," he'd said, not allowing her to actually answer him. "I'll pick you up at six thirty on Saturday." With that, he had left her standing on her own in the corridor._

_Things had seemed to speed up as she stood there, her mouth hanging open in a most unladylike fashion. Suddenly she had realised what had transpired, and her first thought had been Blossom. Blossom, who was crazy about Butch. Blossom, who would kick her ass (or try to, at least) if Buttercup even considered dating Butch. Then she had thought to herself that she wouldn't date Butch, and didn't even like Butch! Brick was better looking, more her style, and she **didn't** even like him! Already, she had pitted herself against Blossom, because she had known Blossom would be enraged, too enraged to hear her out. _

"Well, I was right about that," Buttercup told herself, tears welling in her deep, green eyes. She was thankful she was alone, so no one would see the toughest Puff sulking over a stupid fight with her stupid sister. Why didn't Blossom just listen to her?

Buttercup was so consumed in her problems that she didn't hear the soft footfalls behind her. She didn't know someone else was there until someone asked, "What are you doingss here, kid?"

Buttercup hastily wiped the tears from her eyes, and turned, wide eyed, to look at the person who had interrupted her pity party. She knew the voice, even before she saw his face, but she hadn't believed her ears at first. Six years, it had been six years since her eyes last fell on him. She recovered quickly, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. "It's a free country, I can be here if I want," she said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here, _Snake_?"

Snake smirked, looking ever the same as he had all those years ago, and yet so completely different. He still wore that hat, and his jet black hair still hung lank just above his shoulders. He was still thin, maybe a bit more muscular than she remembered, but not by much. He had grown, too, she guessed he'd be taller than Ace now. His clothes were different than she remembered, though. No more adolescent white tank and brown shorts, although he still had his ragged, black Converse. Instead, he was wearing a worn, black hoodie and shabby, stained jeans. "I'm an adult," was all he said, in that soft voice, raising his eyebrows at her. His voice seemed deeper than she remembered.

"I'm eighteen," she shot back, glaring at him. Who did he think he was?

"You sstill go to sschool," he responded, smirk still in place, his reddish pink eyes seemed to dance with mirth.

"Sso?" Buttercup spat, imitating his hiss. Now he was going to lecture her? A member of a petty gang, lecturing her? Just great.

"Sso, you should be at home, in bed," Snake told her, not showing any signs that her imitation had bothered him, just looking all around amused by her.

Buttercup glared at him, contemplating how she could deal with him. It was a tempting thought to just beat him to a pulp, but he hadn't actually done anything wrong, that she knew of, other than annoy her. He gazed back at her from the edge of the playground, looking as casual as ever, and annoyingly amused. "Just leave me alone," she sighed after a moment, turning her face away from him and closing her eyes, hoping he would just go.

She heard the bark crunch under his feet as he approached her, and was surprised by the sense of relief that seemed to give her. She told herself she was probably just curious, having not seen him for so long. "What'ss wrong, kid?" he asked her, his soft voice full of what she thought sounded like genuine concern, which didn't make sense.

"None of your business," Buttercup snapped, turning her face back to glare at him. "Like I'd tell you, and have your stupid _gang_ laugh at me," she added bitterly, her shoulder hunching protectively as her emerald eyes bore into his own pink ones.

"I wouldn't worry aboutss that," Snake told her, the smirk finally falling from his face to be replaced with a serious, and slightly troubled look.

"Why?" Buttercup asked, her eyes softening as she watched him, her curiosity was getting the better of her. He seemed to falter in his casual attitude at the mention of his beloved gang, and she wanted to know why.

"There iss no more gang," Snake told her, giving a slight shake of his head.

Surely she'd heard wrong. Snake couldn't be telling her that the infamous Gangreen Gang were no more. Then again, she hadn't seen them, or heard from them in six years, anything could be possible. For all she had known, they had been in prison, or had died, until Snake had come across her in this park, reminding her of their existence. But still... "What do you mean 'no more gang'?" she asked, frowning up at him, and putting air quotes around her words.

"I meanss that there iss no more gang," Snake repeated, his face blank as they looked at one another. Something was off, but he was telling her the truth.

"What happened?" Buttercup asked him finally, as the reality set in.

Snake seemed to consider her for a moment, maybe weighing up how best to answer her question, or if he even should. "Life happened, kid," he told her evenly, giving her a look that told her that was all she would get on the subject. Her curiosity to know more burned.

"Do you still see them?" Buttercup asked as lightly as she could. She was more than intrigued by the information he was sharing with her.

"I ssee Acce and Billy, that'ss it," Snake told her, his eyes narrowing as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He was clearly growing uncomfortable with their conversation.

"Ace?" Buttercup repeated softly. A torrent of emotion flashed through her, and although she knew she would never find herself falling for the green charmer again, she desired to know how he was, what had become of him. She found she hoped he was well, even after what he had done to her when she was young. She wasn't sure what question the word even held, but she looked up at Snake with expectant eyes.

"We runss a repair shop together, jusst outsside town," Snake told her, rolling his eyes slightly. He obviously thought she still had some kind of feelings for Ace.

"It's not like that," Buttercup told him quickly, understanding why he would think that. "It's just been years, and... I wondered, sometimes, about him. I thought he'd end up in jail or something. I needed to know, you know?"

"I ssee," Snake said, examining her with his pink eyes. He seemed to get what she meant, and nodded his understanding.

"So, you guys are making an honest living now?" Buttercup asked, raising her eyebrows at him sceptically.

"People change," he said simply, offering her a small grin.

"I guess they do," Buttercup replied, returning his grin.

"Sso, tell me what'ss wrong?" Snake asked, moving to sit on the swing next to hers.

"Why do you want to know?" Buttercup asked cautiously, glancing sideways at him. He was watching her intently.

"If it'ss upsset you enough to cry, it might helpss to talk," Snake suggested quietly, looking down at his own shoes.

"I wasn't crying," Buttercup said quickly, inwardly cursing herself for her weakness.

"Whatever, kid, do you wantss to talk about it?" Snake asked her again, waving off her lie. Buttercup didn't answer, she bit her bottom lip nervously and looked down at her own green Converse. "If you're not going to talk, I'm going homess," Snake said after a while, standing up. Buttercup heard the chains clank, and heard his feet shifting the bark as he walked away from her.

"Wait," she called out, before she had made the conscious decision to do so. Snake turned back to face her, his expression soft, and she looked up at him, her pools of emerald shining in the moonlight. "I had a fight with Blossom," she sighed, bowing her head and looking back at her shoes. "It was pretty bad."

Snake moved back to his swing and sat down again, the chains groaning under his weight. They looked at one another for a moment, Buttercup wasn't really sure what to say. "What aboutss?" he prompted.

"The guy she likes asked me out, and she thinks I said yes," Buttercup told him, blushing slightly and looking back down at her shoes.

"Why don't you jusst tell her you didn't?" Snake asked, Buttercup could hear the frown in his voice.

"I tried to," Buttercup sighed, running a hand through her hair. "It wasn't that easy, she wouldn't even listen to me, like that's anything new. But, that's not the real issue."

"What iss?" Snake asked her, sounding puzzled.

"Well, being the _awesome_ leader that she is, she tried forbid me from dating Butch. Like I wanted to date him anyway, but she can't tell me who I can and can't date," Buttercup started to fire up again, kicking at the bark.

"She really ssaid that?" Snake asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Buttercup said flatly, turning to face him and recounting the day to Snake.

_"Come on, Blossom! I don't even like Butch!" Buttercup shouted at her sister, after she had rudely burst into Buttercup's room and started pointing fingers and throwing around accusations._

_"Then why are you going out with him on the weekend?" Blossom snarled, crossing her arms over her chest, her pink eyes glaring at Buttercup. She hadn't even given Buttercup a chance to explain before she had jumped down her throat. Buttercup didn't know how Blossom had found out, she guessed Butch had been mouthing off, like usual._

_"I already told you, I'm not!" Buttercup cried in exasperation, her fists clenched at her sides. It was taking all the self control she could muster not to punch that glare off of Blossom's face._

_"That's not what Butch says," Blossom replied hotly, getting in Buttercup's face, so that they were practically standing nose to nose._

_"Butch didn't even wait for me to answer him," Buttercup half shouted in Blossom's face, her lip curling back in a snarl. "He just sprung it on me, and assumed I'd say yes!"_

_"Why didn't you tell him before he got the wrong idea, then?" Blossom spat, clearly not believing Buttercup._

_"He was gone before I even realised what was happening, Blossom," Buttercup snapped hotly. "Or I would have told him no, and we wouldn't be having this stupid conversation!"_

_"Well, you'd better let him know tomorrow, because I am forbidding you from dating him," Blossom told her, her pink eyes boring into Buttercups._

_"You're _forbidding_ me?" Buttercup repeated incredulously, staring in disbelief at her sister__, her face creasing in an expression of bewilderment__._

_"Yes, that's what I said," Blossom snapped, pushing her orange locks out of face._

_"You can't do that," Buttercup scoffed, shaking her hea__d. She didn't want to date Butch__, and she wouldn't, but this was quite different from simply__ asking her to tell__ him no. How _dare_ Blossom tell her who she could and couldn't date!_

_"I can, I'm the leader," Blossom said sounding superior, her nostrils flaring. "What I say, goes."_

_That had been it for Buttercup, the breaking point if you will. Before she could even stop herself, her fist had curled into Blossom's jaw, sending the _leader _smashing through the wall of Buttercup's bedroom, and into the next room, which belonged to Bubbles. The last thing Buttercup saw before she'd taken off was Bubbles look of utter confusion._

"Now I'm here, talking to you," Buttercup finishing her story, casting an uncertain look at Snake. He seemed to be deep in thought, his brow creased, looking off into the distance. "So, that's why I'm here," Buttercup said lamely, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. She didn't know what else to say, and she felt kind of awkward sitting in silence.

"Maybe punching your ssisster through a wall wass a bad idea," Snake said gently, his pink eyes settling on her again. They smiled at the thought. "I'm ssure she'll forgive you, oncce she'ss cooled down."

"Yeah," Buttercup sighed in agreement, pushing back on her swing a little. "I just needed to get away from her."

"Undersstandable," Snake half sniggered.

Buttercup felt a lot better, now that someone had actually heard her side of the story. She actually felt pretty happy, like a weight had been lifted and she would be able to sort things out with Blossom tomorrow, no worries at all. The thought almost made her laugh out loud, she knew Blossom wouldn't be _that_ easy, but it would be better when she had calmed down. Maybe Buttercup could talk to Butch about Blossom, they were pretty good friends after all. Yawning, Buttercup stood from her swing and stretched. "I should go home," she said thoughtfully, more to herself than Snake. She turned to him, as she pushed off the ground to hover about a foot from the bark. "Thanks for... you know, listening," she grinned, turning around to take off.

"Hey, Buttercup," Snake's called, the uncertainty in his voice freezing Buttercup in mid air.

"Yeah?" she piped, turning around, and planting her feet back on the ground before him.

Snake's head was bowed, and he seemed to be nervous all of a sudden. It was like he wasn't sure he wanted to say what he was thinking, or he didn't know how to say it. He looked at her, and frowned a bit before saying, "I never forgave him, you know."

"Who?" Buttercup mused, also frowning.

"Acce," Snake replied, his pink eyes trained on her, watching her reaction carefully.

"I didn't know you... hadn't agreed with it," Buttercup admitted, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. It was true, she had just assumed the entire Gangreen Gang had known Ace's plan, and thought it was a real laugh.

"You were jusst a kid," Snake said, his eyes narrowing as he remembered it. "He took advantage of you, I hated him for it for a while. We were bad kidss, but I never thought we were that bad."

"It doesn't matter, Dingleberry," Buttercup smiled warmly. She was surprised, but also gratified, by Snake's revelation.

"It'ss D. Ingleberry," Snake replied rolling his eyes, making her giggle. "And, it doess matter. I wanted you to know, I wanted to tell you back then, but I was bad, and you were good. You probably wouldn't have trussted me after that, anyway."

"Snake," Buttercup said softly, looking him in the eye and giving him a genuine smile. "I'm not mad about it anymore. Besides, if he hadn't done that, I wouldn't have got to know you, and then we wouldn't be having this conversation." Snake brightened at that, and Buttercup, on impulse walked over to him and leant down, wrapping her arms around him in a quick hug. "Thank you," she smiled, as she let him go. "I'll see you around."

"Take care of yoursself, kid," Snake told her, giving her a small wave. She grinned and nodded, before pushing off the ground again, leaving a streak of green behind her as she flew home. Who could have seen that coming?

A/N: Don't forget to review! ;)


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